Cathy Whims, Jeffrey Morgenthaler and Jacose Bell at Nostrana's Negroni Late Night Social

DRINK UP: Nostrana hosted the first annual Negroni Social on April Fools Day and, oh. my. gawd. it was AMAZING!

First off, it started really LATE...like 11:30 pm late and went LATE...really late.

And it wasn't just a party to celebrate that, over the course of the past year, Nostrana has given special attention to unique Negroni variations each month.

No, The Negroni Social, was a bit like being on the Lido deck of the coolest cruise ship of all time. There was food...really good food from the kitchen of Chef Cathy Whims including tasty sardines on crackers, cheesy sammies and loads of meaty balls. There was my friend David dressed up as "Count Negroni." There was a "little film" with beautiful art direction. There was a Count Negroni ice sculpture that doubled as a drink luge. There was a balloon drop. There were even confetti cannons that shot gold glitter all over the crowd.

And, oh yes, there was the celebration of all things Negroni, featuring all twelve ‘Negronis of the Month’, as well as the quintessential classic cocktail, served at Nostrana's Rooster Bar managed by the incredibly handsome Douglas Derrick.

I even had the chance to judge a contest alongside Beaker & Flask's David Shenaut and Beast's Naomi Pomeroy between Nostrana's own Taylor Gehrts against Clyde Common's charmer Jeffrey Morgenthaler in the ultimate Negroni smackdown: The Match After Midnight. Morgenthaler won, by the way.

The after-hours gala was a benefit for Outside In and man-o-man do these kids now how to throw a kick ass cocktail party. Check this site to find more!